Coffee Desserts

This summer, take your coffee cold—Popsicle cold. “The complex flavor of coffee complements that creamy, sweet richness we love in gelato and ice cream,” says Mark Scarbrough, coauthor with Bruce Weinstein of The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book. Since we all take our frozen coffee treats differently, we asked Scarbrough and Weinstein for options to suit all tastes. Just remember to bring your ice cream scoop.

FOR THE GOURMET
Granita al caffè con panna
* Granita means “little grains” in Italian, an apt name for this icy treat. The Sicilian spin on the dish is granita al caffè con panna, sometimes served for breakfast in Sicily on hot days.

2 1/2 cups brewed, cooled espresso or strong coffee
1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur, such as Kahlúa
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar, preferably superfine
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, finely chopped

Whisk all ingredients except heavy cream in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and freeze on the floor of your freezer for about two hours, scraping and stirring with a fork every 20 minutes or so to break apart the ice crystals and distribute them through the mixture. After two hours, granita should be frozen but still soft. Smooth out the crystals for the last time, then cover pan with plastic wrap.

For granita al caffè con panna, scrape up topmost granita with a fork. Meanwhile, beat heavy cream until it doubles in volume. Dish out the whipped cream into individual serving bowls, plates, or cups, then stir in scraped-up granita and serve immediately. Makes about 4 servings.

FOR THE TRADITIONALIST
Coffee Ice Cream
3/4 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole or 2 percent milk
3/4 cup dark-roasted coffee beans
1 3/4 cups heavy or whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, bring milk and coffee beans to a simmer over medium heat. Once hot, pour mixture into a bowl, cover, and set aside for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, use a mixer to beat sugar and yolks in a large bowl at medium speed until mixture becomes thick and pale yellow, about four minutes. Beat in flour and salt. After coffee mixture cools, use a slotted spoon to remove coffee beans from milk. Slowly beat the milk into the eggs and sugar. Pour entire mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Whisk constantly until custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let mixture boil, as the eggs will scramble. Remove from heat and pour hot coffee custard through a strainer into a large bowl. Let mixture cool for five minutes, then stir in cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate at least four hours. Later, stir chilled custard and freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 1 quart (double for half-gallon machines).

FOR THE EUROPHILE
Espresso Gelato
5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons packed dark-brown sugar
2 2/3 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

At medium speed, beat yolks and both sugars with an electric mixer in a bowl for about three minutes. Meanwhile, heat milk and cream in a saucepan—bubbles will appear around the edges when hot enough. Whisk espresso powder into beaten egg yolks, then add 1/3 of hot milk mixture. Now whisk entire thing into remaining milk mixture in the pan. Once completely mixed, reduce heat to low and stir constantly, gently heating the custard until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon—about five minutes. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to strain it into a clean bowl and take care not to scrape out any solids that may have cooked onto the bottom of the pan. Stir in vanilla and salt. Refrigerate at least four hours. Freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Makes about 1 quart (double for half-gallon machines.)

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Want more coffee ice cream desserts? Starbucks offers multiple recipes on their website, including affogato al caffe—an Italian phrase meaning “drowned in coffee”—and ice cream truffles. For coffee drinks, try Martha Stewart’s recipes for cappuccino semifreddo—made with heavy cream, Cognac, and wine—and her iced coffee frappe. If your recipe calls for ice, you can double your buzz by using coffee cubes.

Coffee has fascinated people around the globe for centuries. According to legend, around 800 A.D. an Ethopian goatherder began wondering what was making his goats so energized. He noticed them eating strange red berries off the bushes, and decided to try them himself. No surprise to the generations that followed him, Kaldi the goatherder became the world’s first caffeine addict.

Do you prefer light or dark coffee? If you’re not sure what the difference really is, let National Geographic help you out. Learn about different coffee types and expressions here.

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